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Herbert Stewart

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Herbert Stewart tells the story of how he met playwright William Inge while training as a B-26 Radio Operator/Gunner. The air base was in Illinois but he went to St. Louis on weekends to see the Philharmonic and go to the theater and it was there that he met Inge. (1:19)

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B-26 Radio Operator/Gunner Herbert Stewart liked to visit London during his rest periods but one time, he milked it a little too long. When he finally returned to his base, everyone was gone. (2:58)

Herbert Tollefson

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When Herbert Tollefson heard about Pearl Harbor, he figured he'd have to leave the farm and go to war, and he was right. Drafted, at first, into the infantry, he was reassigned to the Combat Engineers and shipped out for North Africa. (4:34)

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The biggest event of the war for Combat Engineer Herbert Tollefson was the time he blew up a bridge in North Africa. The demolition specialist was tasked with destroying the bridge with an advancing German column making the crossing. What he did haunts him until this day. (7:06)

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Herbert Tollefson felt lucky that, across North Africa and Italy, he was always advancing and never retreating. That felt good, but did nothing to help when there was no clean water. (5:11)

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Why did that jeep driver have his lights on at night? Herbert Tollefson wondered why blackout rules were being ignored and the next day, he learned the happy answer. (4:10)

Herman Buffington

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The training for Herman Buffington was centered around invasion assaults and he made many landings on the West Coast to prepare for the trials ahead. He shipped out for the Pacific just in time to take part in mop-up operations on Saipan. (4:56)

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Herman Buffington continued his training on Saipan, learning to coordinate with larger forces on amphibious invasions. There weren't many Japanese left, but some of the stragglers would sneak down out of the hills to watch, from a distance, the movies the Americans screened at night in the open air. (3:10)

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Herman Buffington explains how it's more difficult than it sounds to get from the rope ladder on a troop transport into the Higgins Boat waiting at the bottom. When they stormed ashore at Okinawa, there was no opposition at first, but that would soon change, especially the snipers. The Americans learned to judge how close the shot was by the sound of the bullets that missed them. If they got closer, you had to make some decisions. (5:38)

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Herman Buffington was First Scout, which meant he was alone and under fire often. He was always hoping the others would catch up and spread the fire around a little. The Japanese snipers were good shots, and way too many had survived the merciless shelling from the Navy's big guns. He was also the company Runner, a storied position in the Army. (5:40)